Persuaded
by firelight3000
Summary: Kahlan is shocked to find another confessor lives, but will the girls past make her hate her or love her?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The girl's eyes widened as she tried to widen her range of sight. There, to the left of the river, tracks. She sunk into a hunters crouch, her black curls floating in the slight wind, as she followed the familiar tracks.

The girl came to a halt. Her pray insight, she braced herself, ready to pounce. Muscles rippled, hair flew as she pounced across the clearing. Landing perfectly, she raised her dagger, ready to give the death blow.

She struck. Her pray breathed its last and froze, never to move again.

As she crouched down to inspect her handy work, she began to relax. A rustle in the bushes cause her to tense again. She had to leave, now, go back to the boy she was sworn to protect. But just as she turned to leave, the rustling came again, bags, they must have seen her by now.

Pushing aside the panic that tried to overwhelm her, she reached inside her boot, feeling the cool calmness of her blade. She drew it, turning in a circle as she went. Noticing her empty hand, she clasped her agiel, letting the familiar pain calm her. Ready for a fight, she turned again, homing in on her opponent.

From the bushes a man jumped, wielding a sword. The fight had begun. Easily avoiding the blows of the sword, the girl ducked and pivoted her way to victory. Gaining the upper hand, she laughed, enjoying the look of frustration planted on the man's face.

"Adelaide stop!" a voice yelled from the forest. Stop, how could she stop, this man was going to kill her. Returning her concentration to the fight, Adelaide wondered if she should know this man, he seemed strangely familiar.

A body crashed into her, pinning her to the ground. Gasping for breath, she tried to dispose of this new enemy. Only to realise that it was the boy she was trying to protect.

"What in the name of the creator are you doing, I'm trying to keep you alive here", She yelled, annoyed that the boy had got in her way.

Scrambling to his feet, the boy offered a hand to his protector, saying "It's alright; he's a friend, a very good friend." Adelaide looked into his eyes and nodded, nobody could lie to her.

They turned to face the man, who was looking at the boy, trying to work out who he was. There was something so familiar about those eyes.

The girl spoke, "Renn, who is this man?"Renn, it was Renn, the listener, how could he forget him. He thought he could never forget the trouble that that boy gave him.

"Adelaide Amnell, I would like to present to you The Seeker of Truth himself, Richard Cypher", Renn spoke in such a voice that made Adelaide grin. Stepping forward, Adelaide took the Seekers hand, kissed it and said, "It's an honour meeting you Seeker".

Richard shifted nervously, hating the way people spook to him, reminding him that he was the air to the D'hara. Focusing on the girl in front of him, he finally realised something about her. Her surname was Amnell, she must be related to Kahlan, he thought, wondering how on earth she had come to meet Renn.

Reading his thoughts, Renn whispered what Richard was thinking to Adelaide. She sighed; she would have to tell the seeker everything now.

"Richard, I know this must seem strange to you, but you need to trust me, there is a D'haran quad tracking us and I don't think I can hold them off much longer" Adelaide was out of options, she had sensed the quad three days earlier but hadn't realised how close they were until she had found those tracks. There

was no way she could fight a D'haran quad by herself.

Richard nodded, "I understand, come with me and I can round up the others, I'm sure Kahlan will be happy to see the both of you." Adelaide cringed.

"Erm, Richard, she doesn't know that I exist, well she knows that I exist but she thinks I dies years ago." Adelaide implored to the seeker, wondering if he would notice the slight tremble in her voice as she spoke about the Mother Confessor. As far as Adelaide knew, Kahlan was not the sort to take the near

destruction of her kind lightly, especially to a girl who was protecting one of her friends.

Renn chose then to speak, "Adelaide, you can't fear Kahlan forever, you know Dennee wanted you to meet, and you know I do, trust me, I won't let her kill you."

"You are a friend of Dennee's?" Richard asked, trying to get her to tell him why Kahlan would want to kill her so much.

Ok, here goes, Adelaide thought "Yes I did know her, once, but I'm not going to tell you my whole life's story here, why don't I explain it to all of you at once when we are out of the open." Remembering that a quad was on Adelaide's tail, he nodded.

"Ok follow me", he said as he began to lead them back through the woods. Before Adelaide followed him, she stooped to the ground, picked up her prey, and began to follow the seeker and Renn.

As Richard and Renn walked further ahead, he turned to the listener, a question forming in his mind. "It's ok, I trust her with my life, she has sworn to protect me with hers and will no doubt do the same for you, she's just had an interesting childhood, that's all." Renn replied to Richards's thoughts as if they'd been

spoken out loud. Richard exhaled, "That's good, it's just, that she seemed like a pretty good fighter to me, and I wouldn't want her to hurt Kahlan" Just as he spoke the words out loud, another question entered his mind.

"Yes she uses an agiel and no, she is not a Mord'Sith, look her story is long and complicated. Just let her explain it herself, after all, it's her story, not mine. So, I'm guessing you and Kahlan haven't worked it out yet." Renn wondered why they hadn't got married yet, maybe they had been waiting to ask him to the

weeding, Renn laughed at his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

_Authors note- this is my first ever fan fiction. Sorry that this chapter is a little short, I coudn't seam to find a conviniant place to stop. Please tell me what you think, thanks. Firelight3000_

**Chapter 2**

Zedd was hungry, Richard was supposed to be back ages ago, where was he? Cara laughed, "Still thinking about your stomach there Zedd?"

"Oh come on Cara, I bet you're as hungry as him", Kahlan interjected, her too wondering where her Seeker was.

Cara opened her mouth to respond, when she heard voices through the trees. _Great_, she thought, _now Lord Rahl is talking to himself_. Just as she was wondering whether he had got the catch on not, she recognised another voice.

Bree Rahl, child of all evil, Rahls daughter- the black assassin. Fear coursed through her veins as she remembered all the terrible things that girl had done. She could not let this monster near her master, but by the sound of it, she was already acquainted with Richard!

"Cara is something wrong", Kahlan asked, noticing the look of sheer panic in the Mord'Siths face. Cara was about to tell her of this monster when three people walked into the camp, a boy no older than ten, the Seeker and Bree. Hatred filled Cara's eyes as she stared at Bree.

"Zedd, Kahlan", the boy exclaimed, rushing forward into Kahlan's open arms.

"Renn, oh Renn it's good to see you. Wait, what are you doing here? I thought you were with the sisters of the light." Kahlan's obvious joy at seeing the boy marred here question.

"I was with them, but then a messenger came from Aydindril, seeking my help. They said that with the fall of confessors, they needed somebody to lead the council in judgment, and what better person than a listener?"

"Wait, I thought I sent my sister to Aydindril" Kahlan's worry seeping into every word she spoke.

Adelaide was nervous by all this talk of Dennee, didn't they know that she was dead, Had Cara not told the Mother Confessor that it was her herself who had killed her only surviving family?

"When did this messenger come? Kahlan asked, crouching down to look into Renn's eyes.

"When the moon was last full" he answered, wondering what she could have meant by what she said.

A sigh of relief left Kahlan's lips as she rose to her feet, turned and looked Adelaide directly in the face and asked "who are you?"

"oh, let me introduce you", Renn interjected, casting Adelaide a side long glance, " Kahlan Amnell, meet Adelaide Amnell, my sworn protector, and the only other confessor alive in this vast land. She's your cousin's daughter"

"Adelaide?" Kahlan questioned, carefully moving towards the girl. She reached Adelaide, saw her locket and took her in her arms. Adelaide, not used to such contact, froze. After a pointed look from Renn, she hugged Kahlan back, unsure whether this was the right decision.

Kahlan released her, stood back and took in the girl she'd thought she'd lost forever.

Adelaide's head snapped up, she hesitated, then shoved the Mother Confessor to the ground, drawing her weapons as she went, staring at the arrow that had come so close to killing her only family.

Jumping to her feet, she pulled the shocked Kahlan up with her, as she said the words that filled her heart with fear. "The Quad, they've found us!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Authors note: Sorry this took so long to get uploaded, my internet crashed. Anyway, I forgot to mension, this is set just after "Princess". Again, please tell me what you think._

Richard cursed, how could he not see that coming? Beside him Kahlan and Cara had already drawn their weapons, and Adelaide was already throwing Renn behind her. The distinct ring of the sword of truth filled the clearing as the D'Harans attacked.

Kahlan fell into the familiar dance as she sliced, kicked and killed her enemies. She saw an advancing D'Haran, he was heading towards Richard! She threw one of her blades, striking the D'Haran square in the chest. Fully concentrating on Richard, she did not see the man jump out beside her and pin her down. "It's over confessor" he yelled, bringing his sword up for the death blow.

"No!" Richard yelled, too far away to stop it. He watched in horror as the blade sunk lower. A flash of black spun into view, blocking his vision.

Seeing Kahlan fall to the floor, the D'Haran on top of her, Adelaide did the first thing she thought of. Spinning out the way of an oncoming blade, she dropped her weapons and grabbed the D'Haran by the neck, pulling him of Kahlan as she went. Letting her powers lose, Adelaide felt the familiar sensation of the silent thunder clap, before she fell into a dead faint.

Jumping to her feet, Kahlan stared at the scene of destruction before her. Amongst the sea of bodies, she noticed a D'Haran on his knees in front of Adelaide, saying the words she thought she would never see not directed at her again."Command me Confessor", the D'Haran pleaded, kneeling by his mistresses' side.

Adelaide stirred, noticing the kneeling D'Haran, she sighed, she'd done it again. Instructing the confessed man to help her to her feet, she surveyed her surroundings. _Well, it could have been worse, at least it was only D'Haran scum who were dead_, she thought.

With the shock of the confession wearing of, Kahlan suddenly wanted to know everything about this girl. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Cara and Zedd, starring in ore at the girl. Richard filled her vision then, enveloping her in one of his colossal hugs. "Are you ok?" he asked, gently stroking her hair.

Kahlan, relaxing at his touch, whispered back "I'm fine Richard, but only because of Adelaide, that girl has some serious explain to do now."

They both looked over at her, supported by her confessed D'Haran, she looked less harmful than Renn. Kahlan spun, noticing Renn was not in their numbers she began to panic. Smiling at Kahlan's look of sheer panic, Richard calmly pointed to the tree, which Renn was perched in.

Kahlan blushed, a little embarrassed with her overreaction, she strode over to Renn, pulling him out of the tree. "What in the name of the Creator have you been doing? She asked the boy, as she gently put him down.

"I would explain, but I promised Adelaide she could, just let her get rid of the D'Haran first", he replied, wondering what the Mother Confessor would think of this addition to her order.

Ignoring the Confessed D'Haran, Adelaide searched the area until she found her agilee and dagger, putting then back in their holders; she turned to four very expectant faces.

Kahlan spoke first, "Why did you confess that man?"

Adelaide was bemused, of all the questions that they were going to throw at her, she had not thought that as one of them. "Because he was about to kill you and I needed information from him." Adelaide noticed that Kahlan did not seem angry with her, more like she was hearing what she expected to hear.

Pleased with Adelaide's response Kahlan nodded, "Well ask him what you want to know."

Not liking the direct order, Adelaide decided to obey it anyway, turning to the D'Haran she asked, "What is your name and your reason for attacking us?"

"My name is William, mistress, William Skotar. Mistress, please, I'm sorry for attacking you, I never want to hurt you." He stuttered and shivered, reminding Adelaide of the broken men of the Mord'Sith.

Getting more inpatient with every moment of silence, she prompted him, "Who sent you?"

"Rahl, mistress, Darken Rahl. He sent one of his most trusted general in form of a bainling, to tell all the reaming quads to find you and to bring you to him in the underworld. He said that you had betrayed him and that you were no longer on the side of good. He said that you needed to be punished. Forgive me mistress, I should have never attacked you, I realise that now"

This news neither shocked nor worried her. She was used to Rahl trying to scare her, but he never succeeded. Kahlan was confused, this girl knew Rahl? Deciding she better help Adelaide with her confessed. She stepped forward and whispered some advice in Adelaide's ear, "Say you forgive him, he will never be able to live with himself if you don't."

Adelaide grimaced, she really wished he could have a life after this day, but she knew what she had to do. She had to stop Rahl's men coming after her, it was putting Renn in even more danger then he was already in.

Turning to Kahlan, she whispered "I will forgive him, as I know it is right, but I cannot allow him to live. I wish there was another way, but there isn't and I have to protect Renn."

Kahlan looked apologetically at Adelaide, wondering just how much she really knew about confessors. "He won't hurt anyone. He is under confession, he will only hurt someone unless you ask him to or your life is in danger."

Trying not to grimace again, Adelaide explained this little misunderstanding, "I know he won't hurt anyone, but his D'Haran friends will. I need to send him to Rahl to tell him to stop hunting me, or I will destroy his armies one by one. I need to kill him to do that."

"Or you could let him live, you could tell him to go start a new life, make an honest living." Kahlan was shocked at the idea of killing someone just to send a message. "Rahl will still send men after you, no matter how scary you sound."

Adelaide pondered, deep down she knew the Mother Confessor was right, but she still didn't like the idea, and she certainly wasn't used to taking advice. "Ok, fine, you win." She gave in with little annoyance, Kahlan was a cleaver woman. Directing her next words at William, she said, "William, I want you to get far away from here. I want you to find a small town and in this town I want you to find honest work. Once you've done that your life will be the same as many others, if you are unsure what to do, follow their example. Now go, this will make me very happy."

"If that is what you wish mistress." He bowed, turned and left the clearing, never to be seen again.

Adelaide watched him go, glad that it was over, she hated confessing people. She turned to the others and sighed, time to tell her story.

Cara had been setting up camp whilst Kahlan and Bree had been dealing with the confessed soldier. Zedd had burned the remaining bodies and had started a debate with Renn about the pheasant that Bree had caught. Cara looked up to find Richard staring at Kahlan, she rolled her eyes, is that he ever did.

Kahlan and Bree walked over sitting down, Bree turned to Kahlan, "So, what do you want to know?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Authors note: Ok, you finally get to find out who Adeliade is, hope you enjoy. Firelight3000_

"Start at the beginning, tell us your whole story." Kahlan was desperate to know everything and did not want any details left out.

Adelaide sighed, "Ok, just don't interrupt me, questions after." She settled by the fire and began to tell her story:

"I was born in the valley of Rettesmont, my mother was a confessor called Charlotte, and my father was her mate. He died just a few months before I was born. I am not sure about the exact details of my birth, just that it was long and painful. It killed my mother, but not before she could pass me on to somebody else, and with her last breathed she named me Adelaide Amnell. The person she handed me over to was a girl, no older than ten. That girl grew up to be known as the Mother Confessor, didn't you Kahlan?

Although, you weren't the only one in that room, were you? Your sister and father were there also. Your father refused to let you keep me and declared that I must be drowned, as is tradition for unwanted confessors. That's what he said, isn't it?

So poor little Denee got left the job of cleaning the room, while you were sent to the river to drown the baby. But, of course, you couldn't do it. So you did the only thing you could do, you put the baby in the basket and sent it out into the world.

The only thing you gave the baby was a locket. A silver locket, with the symbol of a rose etched in its surface, and in this locket was a piece of my mother's hair. For half a day the basket travelled, with me safely inside. When a young girl spotted it and pulled it out of the water. The girl's name was Cara.

She took me back to the temple where the sisters of the agilee argued over me for some time. It was not until they found out that lord Rahl himself was coming to visit that they decided what to do with me. They decided to offer me to lord Rahl as a gift. In the meantime, I was given to Cara to look after.

When lord Rahl came, he was angry. Apparently, the dragon core had failed in a mission. A very important mission, the siege of Aydindril. To tame the lord's anger I was presented to him. Taking me in his arms, he picked up one of the sister's agilees and pocked me with it. I lashed out, scratching him across the face. Pleased with my response, he named me, Bree Rahl.

There was silence in the temple. He spoke to the sisters' "I will raise her as my own, to one day rule D'Hara. You are here by sworn to secrecy, no one will know she is not mine by blood. Now who is the sister who has been taking such good care of her?"

With this Cara stepped forward, smiling up at Rahl as she went. He passed me back to her and said that if she were to personally train me to be an assassin, not a Mord'Sith. Then he would make her a great warrior one day. Of course, she agreed. Didn't you Cara?

As soon as I learnt how to walk, I was taught how to fight. At first I was only taught how to fight with an agilee, but as I grew older, I began to fight with a dagger as well. Fighting was not he the only thing I learnt, I learnt to hunt and track also. Although, to me the best bit was the history, by the time I was five, I could recite all the battles since the beginning of time. There was one other thing I learnt, something that only I and one other person in the world know. I learnt the language of the book of counted shadows. It took me years to understand it fully, but in the end I got there, all I needed was the book.

When I was about seven, Rahl sent me on a mission that changed my life forever. He sent me to kidnap the wizard, Alex Yar, and to keep him as my personal wizard. Of course, I was excited about the whole wizard idea, but there was one problem. The wizard belonged to a confessor, a very powerful confessor, and that confessor is sitting opposite me now."

Richard let out a breath; Adelaide had tried to steal a wizard from Kahlan's protection. No wonder Kahlan looked so shocked.

Sitting tall, Kahlan asked, "The wizard you kidnapped, Alex, is he dead?"

Adelaide was confused by her question, hadn't she just said the whole point of the plan was so that she could have her own wizard. "No he is very much alive, last I saw he was heading to Aydindril to see what he could do for the Midlands."

"Wait, I thought he was on Rahl's side." Kahlan's voice was sharp with worry.

"No, he is neither dead nor a D'Haran. Now I'm sure you're wondering how he got to be where he was. Let me continue." Richard and Cara laughed silently at the little girl that was telling the Mother Confessor what to do. Kahlan shot Cara a dark look and pushed Richard so he fell back to the floor, but even she had a crinkle at the corner of her mouth.

"Anyway, I knew the security was too good to sneak in, so I did the obvious. I went in through the front gate. From there I went straight to the courts, I mingled around for a bit, unsure what to do next. Then I spotted him, entering a court behind a dark haired girl that must have been you.

I knew it would be too risky to fight the guards in broad daylight, so I waited. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some children, crawling out a pipe in the court wall, I had my way in. My plan set, I knew I should get moving. Although, there was a part of my mind that wanted to stay put and watch the children. I'd never truly been out the castle that much, at least not without somebody. And, well... this was my first ever experience or what real life was like and I wanted it badly. One of the mothers must have noticed me staring, because she came over and asked if I wanted to play with them. Unsure what to do, I shrank away from the woman, making an alibi about my mother wanting me to stay in that exact spot or something.

The woman was not convinced, but she soon gave up and headed back to the children. Again, it shocked me; I'd never seen someone as kind hearted as her before, even if it was only for a few fleeting seconds.

I shook my head, trying to clear my head of such thoughts, all this loitering was going to get me killed. I slipped into the pipe and grimaced, how could the other children of stood the smell. Although, I kept going, as I knew I must. I rounded a corner and reached a grate. I picked at the lock, and soon had it on the floor. I followed the sound of muffled voices as I carried on crawling. As, I turned round yet another bend I saw a dim light.

Now, on my stomach, I made my way towards it. I grinned. I looked into some sort of antechamber, and in that chamber there was the wizard but he was not alone, you were with him.

I waited, sure the perfect moment would arise, and it did. You came and sat right in front of me, didn't you?

I knew there was no point in killing you as Alex would probably just shout for security. So I did the first thing that came into my head, I jumped out of the pipe and knocked you out. I still remember Alex's face, he was absolutely terrified.

I'm not quite sure what we said to each other, but I do remember that I held an agilee to your neck. Anyway, I convinced him to come and work for me and we left, leaving you on the floor.

It had all been easier than I thought; we just walked out the main gate as if nothing had ever happened. At first I was not sure what to think of Alex, he seemed ok, but then he starting singing!"

Kahlan stifled a laugh, she remembered Alex's voice, he was quite good, but he was a bit loud.

"Foods ready", Kahlan jumped, she had nearly forgotten Zedd and Renn were there. As they passed the plates of pheasant around, she noticed that Adelaide did not take hers.

Cara, following Kahlan's eyes, looked over to Adelaide and said "You still don't eat much then?" It always shocked her how little that girl ate.

"Oh come on Adelaide, eat something, by the way, this pheasant is amazing" Renn knew she was really quite hungry; she just wanted to get the whole explaining thing out the way,

"Fine and Zedd this pheasant is actually really good, what did you do with it?" Adelaide couldn't quite describe it, but she had a feeling honey was hidden in the succulent meat.

"Well before I cook it I..." Zedd's words were interrupted by Cara's cough.

"If we want to get some sleep tonight, I suggest Adelaide carry on."

"Right erm yes. Anyway as I grew older, I began to be known as the black assassin. I was one of the only people who weren't scared of confessors. I hunted them to near extinction, taking any wizard down along the way.

Although, as I got closer to my purpose, I began to see the darkness inside myself. But it was too late to go back; it was then that I lead the siege of Aydindril.

Alex, Cara and I lead thirty Mord'Sith to the Midlands. We were the first attack. We alone managed to take hold of Aydindril. Although, it wasn't over yet, the keep was still standing.

We broke through the magic easily enough, and there it was, the last stand, ready to fight to the end. We took out the wizards first, there were no prisoners. That's when I noticed a flash of white, slipping into another chamber. I followed it. Inside were two confessors and a wizard. They were arguing about some prophecy or something but that's not what I cared about, I cared about the little leather book in the blond confessors hand. The book of counted shadows.

Those confessors, that was you and your sister, wasn't it Kahlan?"

"Yes, but I don't understand, I thought the dragon core came after us. Not Mord'Sith."

"They had surrounded the perimeter, so when you escaped they followed. I'm not sure how long it was before your sister was captured. When she was, I took her to the prison myself. You don't know how hard it was for me, to let her live after her sister had got the book across the boundary, but I had my orders, I could not kill her.

_Authors note: Just a little heads up, I had to split this chapter in two as it was over 4000 words long. Thats why it ends a bit suddenly, please reveiw._


	5. Chapter 5

_Authors note: This is the second half to the fourth chapter. Enjoy. XD Firelight3000_

It was that night, that night that D'Hara's history changed forever, because it was that night that the Seeker was named. Rahl knew that he would have to be ready for him the moment he came back across the boundary. So he sent me to Denee, to get what information I could from her.

The first time I entered that cell, I knew something was amiss. Rahl had told me that I could not harm her because of the child growing inside of her. It was only then that I realised that he wanted the child as his own, to become ruler of the D'Haran empire. I pitied myself for being so stupid, how could I have missed it? As if I needed another reason to hate this woman.

Although, I did pity her, alone in that cell. So I began to talk to her, learn about her life. After a while, she began to trust me and I her. I began to give her updates about the resistance and the Seeker. She was very proud of you Kahlan, did she ever get to tell you that?

I told her about all your little adventures, and she seemed quite happy to sit and listen. At first, Rahl was dubious, worried that I was getting to close to the enemy, but after a while, he began to trust my judgement. She would not try anything stupid if I kept coming to her.

One day, she asked me about the chain around my neck, so I showed her the locket. She froze; I knew immediately that she knew something that I didn't.

She asked me where I got the locket, probably thinking I'd kept it as a prize or something. I explained to her that I was found with it and that I assumed it belonged to my mothers. This lead to me telling her my whole life's story. She was surprised when she found out that I had tricked Alex into becoming my wizard. She'd always thought that he was a traitor. She asked that next time I came, I would bring him. I agreed.

The three of us got on quite well, and I soon realised just how wrong I had been in killing all those confessors. I expected Denee to hate me, as I once did her, but she forgave me. I still don't know why, though.

Alex found it quite funny that I was the daughter of a confessor, but I was confused, if I was who she said I was, where were my powers?

It took us a while to work it out, but we thought it was because of my Mord'Sith magic that kept my powers from forming.

With Aydindril under D'Haran rule, I began to explore the keep, and all the prophecies. It was there that I came across something that scared me to the core, a prophecy.

_At the demise of her master,_

_the dormant one will wake, _

_and her light will shine._

_Only then can_

_she save the world from a_

_greater evil than her master ever was._

Naturally, I hid the prophecy, only to find something much more interesting. I found the diary of Kieran, the last true Seeker"

"You found a creepy prophecy about yourself and you found a diary of some dead guy more interesting?" Cara butted in, wondering why she ever let that girl into that keep.

"No I did not find the book more interesting, I just couldn't tell anyone about the prophecy and anyway, you knew about the diary, didn't you."

Richard chose then to join the conversation, "So let me get this straight, you found this diary, told Cara about this and Cara didn't even think to mention this to me because...?"

"I am right here you know, and the only reason I didn't tell you was because I thought the book had been destroyed." Cara did not look happy.

"Just out of interest, when does that diary go up to?" Kahlan was wondering how no one had ever been able to spot the book before.

"Everybody shut up now!" The camp fell silent, not even an owl hooted. "Right, in answer to your question, the book goes up to just before he was confessed. Now, shall I carry on?

Anyway, I was the only person who could read this book as it was in the language of the counted shadows. So I dictated it to Rahl.

That's when it got interesting, Rahl wanted to make sure I had translated it correctly, but he had no idea how to do that. Then he got lucky, the Seeker was captured by the Mord'Sith Dena.

Although I had never really liked Dena much, she was excellent in what she did. About a week into your training, I asked permission to go and verify what the book said.

When I got to the temple, I found the lack of guards worrying; someone must have known the Seeker had been captured. From there I was lead to a chamber, you weren't there yet, but the sword of truth was. I have never in all my life seen a sword quite like it. I was about to go and examine it, when Dena came into the room, dragging you behind her.

I have to say, I was unimpressed, I thought you would have been able to hold out longer."

"Wait, if you saw me, how come I don't remember you? Anyway, do you know what an agilee feels like; it's just a little painful you know."

"I know what an agilee feels like, I wield one." An idea came to mind, raising her hand she said, "Cara, poke me with your agilee." Cara did exactly as she was told. When the familiar pain hit her, Adelaide smiled, she had proved herself.

"I was pocked with an agilee on a daily basses to keep me immune to it. I am probably the only person alive today that can hold out against it for so long. The reason why you don't remember me is because I wiped your memories, well Alex did anyway.

Once Dena had finished tying you up, I sent her away. I was not in the mood to torture someone and that's not how I was going to persuade you anyway. As soon as she was gone, I let you down and began talking to you; I even gave you some water. You could not understand how I could be so nice, but you didn't complain. I managed to strike a deal with you, and you read the book to me. I was pleased; it said exactly what I thought it said.

When you were done, I tied you back up and Alex wiped your memories. We left soon after. Alex was unsure about what I'd done, whilst wiping your memories, I asked him to remove a couple of days of your training. Although, he had done what I said, he was unsure whether it was the right thing to do.

After only a day of travel, news reached us that the Seeker had escaped and that Dena had been taken back to the people's palace to be punished. He realised then that it was the right thing to do. We went straight to Denee, to tell her about what happened.

At first she seemed kind of shocked that he had got away, but when we told her about your part in the escape, she laughed. I found it quite funny myself, a mere confessor able to outsmart a Mord'Sith on her own territory."

"Wait, did Denee work it out?" Kahlan asked, blushing scarlet at the thought.

"Work it out? Of course she did, she was the one that came up with it in the first place."

Richard butted in, "What are you talking about and what deal did we make?"

"We are talking about how you were able to escape Dena and that deal is between you and I, we should not discuss such things so publically." Richard went to speak again, but Adelaide raised her hand to silence him.

"What came next was very satisfying. As Dena had failed Lord Rahl and in essence failed me. We got to punish her, didn't we Cara? During that time, she kept on shouting about how it was my fault that she had failed. As leader of the Mord'Sith, the way she spoke to me was out of line, so you got really angry with her didn't you Cara?"

"So that's what she was going on about, I thought she had just snapped. You weren't the only person she was being rude to; she said that I was blind!" Cara's voice leaked venom as she spoke.

"Carry on please." Kahlan interjected, wondering how much of this darkness Renn had picked up on.

"Well about a month later, I went to go visit Denee to find that she had run of with you two. I was annoyed for some time, but I soon got over it, I had more pressing matters to attend to. I'd managed to eliminate all the confessors, save you and your sister, but I was no longer happy. I'd managed to drive my own family to near extinction. I wanted Rahl dead, more than ever, for making me do that.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long, but not before I died. I was with Rahl and Cara, discussing something, when an arrow came through the window, and landed in my heart, killing me."

"Wait that's not what I remember, we were on a field mission and you got trapped in a burning building and I couldn't save you..." Cara's look of confusion told everyone she was telling the truth.

"Sounds a bit silly, doesn't it? That's what I wanted you to think happened. This is what really happened. When you saw the confessor light go out of me, you panicked, and bought me back to life, but not before you had chained me up. You and Rahl beat me until I stated answering your questions, but the only answer I could give was "Denee told me." Rahl kept on asking lots of stupid questions, but you asked me the only important one: How did I suppress my powers?

I told you it was because of my Mord'Sith magic, so you did the first thing you thought of, you broke my connection with my agilee. It felt very strange indeed, the two powers battling for control, but in the end, the confessor part of me won.

You untied me then and sent for my wizard, I was finding it very hard to control my powers. When he was bought into the room, he looked very confused, but when he looked at me, he realised his fate, even before I did. You were going to make me confess him.

He was forced to his knees in front of me. I was then told to confess him. Naturally, I told you I would not. That's when I felt the true force of your agilee, but instead of weakening me, it angered me. But there was nothing I could do any more, you forced me on my knees beside him and practically forced me to confess him. The last thing I said to him was "I'm sorry" before I let my powers lose. It was only then that I noticed the tears pooling in my eyes and running down my face. He nodded in acceptance and his eyes turned black.

I came back to reality with Rahl's laughter ringing in my ears. He was going off about something to do with confessors, but I was beyond caring, I knew I needed to get out of there. Signalling to Alex, we jumped to our feet. I spun into a kick, knocking Rahl out and killing the other Mord'Sith in the same blow. I came for you next, but not before you struck Alex with the agilee, killing him. Now angrier than ever, I lunged at you, knocking you to the floor. I managed to grab your agilees, and forced you to give Alex the breath of life.

Once you revived him, I knocked you out too. I walked over to Alex, unsure whether he would still e confessed, but he assured me he wasn't. He asked me what I was going to do with you and Rahl and I asked him to plant a fake story of me dying in your minds. He asked me why I didn't just kill you. I knew I should kill you, but I couldn't, even though you had tried to kill me, I still couldn't kill you, you were family.

So he wiped your minds and we grabbed the book and left that life for good. Ok any questions?"

"So how did you get from there to here?" Richard asked, still a little shocked from her story.

"Another night, I promise, I really am too tired to go on, but here have this, you may find it of interest" She replied, handing him Kieran's diary.

They all settled around the campfire, Cara taking first watch, Renn sleeping soundly in Kahlan's arms, and Adelaide, twisting in her sleep.

_Authors note: Yay, I've nearly finished Adelaide's story. At one point I thought it would never end. Iwill try and get the next chapter up A.S.A.P, I promise there is going to be more action. You know what to do :P_


	6. Chapter 6

_Authors note: Three chapters in one day, I need to get a life. Anyway here's the next chapter. I dedicated it to Zedd as there isn't much fanfiction about him and he's a great character to explore. BTW this chapter is essential to the plot so If you're not a Zedd fan, sorry. Please review. Firelight3000_

Zedd was concerned. He was happy that this girl had come to see the light, but he was not sure. How did that girl know Kieran was confessed?

Watching her now, he noticed how harmless she looked, curled in a ball, she looked like the child she had never been. He sighed, was Richard the only one who hadn't had his childhood stolen from him? Yes, Richard doesn't have that anymore, but at least he had a proper childhood and for that he was eternally grateful.

Noticing someone watching her, Adelaide sat up to find Zedd sat across the clearing to her, just watching. Rolling her eyes, she gave him a small wave. Why were adults always watching her these days? She could take care of herself.

Not sure what to do, Zedd waved back. Alarm bells went off in his head, they were alone and she was an excellent fighter. He shook his head, trying to clear his head of such irrational thoughts. If she were on the side of the dark, he would be dead. With his fears intact, he beaconed to her, desperate to find the answer to his question.

Clambering to her feet, Adelaide made her way over to the wizard, wondering what he wanted. He offered her some of the leftover pheasant and she declined. Shrugging, Zedd began devouring the meat himself. Adelaide laughed, a tinkering laugh, nothing like what it used to be.

"What?" Zedd asked his voice muffled by yet another piece of meat.

"Zeddicus Zu'lZorander first and foremost wizard of the first order, but to anyone who doesn't know that, it's the man that never stops eating." Adelaide replied, a hint of humour evident in her voice.

"So that's what they say about me these days. Well I've heard worse. Anyway, how do you know that Kieran was confessed?" His voice turned from joking to serious in the same breath.

Adelaide, taken aback by his sudden change in tone replied, "Can you keep a secret Zeddicus?" As she said this, she looked into his eyes; reminding him of the time Kahlan had made him promise not to tell Richard she loved him. Adelaide had the same fierceness and with her emerald eyes boring into his, he knew he could not lie.

"I can" He kept his voice steady, knowing any stumble would be noticed.

"There are two diaries, one before he was confessed and one after. Before you ask, I only gave him the first one, because he can't know the contents of the second diary, at least not yet. If he finds out now, it will kill him." Zedd was shocked by her words, whatever she was keeping from him, he had to know, it could be valuable information. Looking into her eyes, he noticed how her eyes were almost the exact shape as Kahlan's, right down to the way her eye lashes brushed against her eyelids. He thought it strange that they look more like sisters than Kahlan and Denee ever did, they were related after all.

"I know I can trust you Zeddicus, but you must promise me you will not tell the Seeker or the Mother Confessor." The emphasis on Kahlan's title made him flinch.

Nodding his head, he said "I swear on my powers as a wizard that I will not mention one word of this conversation to them."

"Thank you Zeddicus, I knew you would understand." Zedd was not happy with the repeated use of his full name.

"You can call me Zedd you know." He wondered if she was just trying to be humble, but he wasn't convinced; he saw too much of Cara in her.

"I know." Her smile proved his suspicion.

Another idea entered his mind "You're not going to start to call Richard Lord Rahl are you?"

Adelaide shivered, "No, I never want to hear that title again." Zedd noted her shiver; an afterthought told him that she was not as strong as she appeared to be.

"Good because he is an awful hunter when he's annoyed." The sudden tension was broken by Zedd's words. Adelaide laughed again, did the wizard ever stop thinking about his stomach. "So are you going to tell me about the contents of this book or am I going to have to guess?"

Adelaide's smile widened, she was starting to like him more and more by the second. "It would be funny to make you try and guess it, but you never would. The book contains a long lost secret about the power of love. This is the secret that you are sworn to keep." She paused, unsure how to phrase her next sentence. "Confessors power feeds on love. When they confess someone, they take this love and direct it at themselves, and nothing can stop it, except one thing. If that person loves them already, they cannot be harmed as there would be nothing to change."

Zedd froze, listing to her explanation, he groaned, how could he have been so stupid? He completely forgot about the essence of confessors' power. Another question came to his mind, "Why can't we tell them?"

Adelaide sighed, she thought the wizard would understand, "The person has to love the confessor completely and her him. If there is any doubt, it is not absolute, therefore it will not work. If we tell them, there will be a possibility that it will not work."

"I still think we should tell them" Adelaide was suddenly angry, didn't the wizard get anything?

Taming her sudden fury, she replied as calmly as she could. "If we tell them, they may doubt their love for each other and then your grandson would be a slave or worse"

Zedd noticed the sharpening in her voice and nodded, definitely raised by Cara. "Ok, ok it was just an idea. So what do you suggest we do then?"

Adelaide pondered what were they going to do? "We will do nothing, at least not directly. From watching them today, I don't think it will be much longer before they are unable to resist. But what you will do is give them some space, not enough to make them suspicious, just enough to plant he idea."

The authority in her voice made Zedd agree, she would make a great leader one day. He found the similarities between Confessors and Mord'Sith overwhelming sometimes. It was like the same person created them. "Ok, I will give them some space, what about Renn and Cara?"

"Renn already knows and I will tell Cara in due course. In the meantime, can you hide the book? I don't doubt that Richard will search my pack, just in case." She was not sure what the Seeker would do. Only meeting him once, she did not know much about him.

Zedd was impressed, this girl thought of everything. When she handed him the book, he realised something. "Wait, if you know about this and you're a confessor, doesn't that mean you won't be able to control your power?"

Sadness filled her heart as she realised the truth. Berating herself, she pushed the sadness aside, she did not need a man to make her complete. Faking a smile she looked back at Zedd, her eyes glowing. "Yes, but I never had the choice of who I was going to marry, never. So I guess I never really cared about it."

Zedd felt sorry for her, it was obvious that she had never really had a taste of free will. Looking into her sad eyes, he promised himself that he would help this girl have the most normal life possible.

"You know, I expected you to be happier, your grandson can finally marry the woman he loves." Adelaide was glad that she could fulfil her promise to Denee.

Zedd laughed, "I am happy, I'm just wondering how you know Richard is my grandson."

Adelaide snorted, "Please, I know everything, I know about Richard being Rahl's brother, I even know how Rahl loved the Mother Confessor way more than he should."

Zedd stiffened, "He loved her?"

"Yes, it was kind of strange though, seeing as he'd never actually met her. Don't worry, I made him see sense. I thought it best not to mention it earlier. I heard the Seeker can be quite overprotective when it comes to the Mother Confessor."

"Well I'm sure what you've heard is probably not true, but you're right, it's best not to mention that to Richard. It's late, get some sleep."

Grudgingly, Adelaide rose to her feet and made her way back to bed. "Goodnight child."

Rolling her eyes, Adelaide laid down looking up at the starry night. "You too" She whispered, before closing her eyes and falling into a dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_Authors note: Ok I know it's been ages since I last updated this, I have been doing other things. Anyway this is just a bit of a fun chapter that i put together. Just something I should mension, I don't have a beta so sorry if there are any mistakes. Well, I think that's it. Enjoy XD._

Cara smiled as she looked over to the sleeping Adelaide. "Do you want me to wake her Lord Rahl?" She asked, turning to Richard and smirking when he glared at her.

"Please" he replied. Turning back to Kahlan he began to speak. When he heard the screech of an agilee he turned. "Cara what are you doing?" He asked the Mord'Sith, who was now barely five feet from the sleeping child.

Cara looked back at Richard and rolled her eyes. It wouldn't hurt her. Knowing she would have to be quick, she leapt forward, driving the rod into the girl's hip.

Adelaide groaned as her usual wakeup call throbbed through her. Scrunching her eyes against the sunlight threatening to blind her she murmured "five more minutes Cara and I will train whoever you want for a month" before rolling over and blocking out the pain that threatened to wake her.

Tutting, Cara bent down and whispered "I won't be training anyone, unless you want me to give that kid a good beating for you." Seeing Adelaide stiffen, Cara smiled.

At Cara's words, Adelaide froze; she wouldn't really hurt him, would she? Deciding it was best not to risk it, she sat up and ran a hand through her tousled hair. She missed her Mord'Sith plait, sometimes it was just so much easier to have all your hair out of your face.

Noticing Adelaide's frown, Kahlan walked over to her with her hair brush. "Here let me do that." The feel of a hand on hers made Adelaide jump, she was not used to such a kind offer.

"Erm thanks" she muttered before releasing her hair and letting Kahlan take over. Richard smiled as he watched Kahlan and Adelaide bond; soon their laughter was filling the camp.

Getting all the knots out of Adelaide's hair was hard, but Kahlan managed to untangle most of it before Cara stormed over and practically ripped the hairbrush out of Kahlan's hand. Turning to Adelaide, she ripped through the last few knots, taking most of the hair with her. Giving the brush back, she turned and stormed out of the camp. "I'm guessing Cara hasn't had breakfast yet?" Adelaide joked.

"No she defiantly hasn't. Now I can't do a Mord'Sith plait, but I can French plait it for you, is that ok?" Kahlan was trying not to laugh at the girl's calm approached to her fellow Mord'Sith.

"Sure Kahlan, you do whatever you want." Adelaide replied, wondering what could cause this woman to be so unsure of some things.

Once Adelaide's hair was sufficient, she realised she was very hungry, and by the sound of rumbling tummies, so was everyone else. Catching Richard's eye, she nodded. Time for a hunt, she mouthed before rising to her feet and picking up her weapons.

"There are bucks tracks barely an hour old, I suggest we go after that. Anyone else want to come?"

Everyone shook their heads and returned to whatever task they were doing before she awoke. Richard, surprised that she had found the tracks so quickly let her lead through the woods.

As soon as they got out of earshot, he rounded on her, backing her up against a tree. "I know Rahl and I know Mord'Sith. I know there's something you're hiding and if it turns out even for a second that you are a spy then I can promise you that you will die by m y sword."

Adelaide smirked, she'd never heard of the Seeker losing his temper before. "You really want to know what I'm hiding from you." She waited until he nodded before continuing "When I first met you, you were broken beyond imagining. You would do absolutely anything for your mistress, anything." She paused, wondering how to phrase her next sentence. "I don't exactly know what happened between the two of you, but I got the impression that you went all the way in pleasing your mistress..."

Richard gasped; he guessed it would have been something like that. Memories of Denna filled his head as he tried to calm himself. He couldn't of done that, he would never do that to Kahlan! But even as he tried to deny it he knew he had, he remembered now. "I remember" he muttered, his voice barely coming out louder than a whisper.

Adelaide smiled apologetically, "Of course you do, Alex is only a wizard of the second order." She watched him mouth wordlessly as he tried to understand what had happened. "Look I'm sad for you and everything, but you must realise it wasn't your fault." When Richard started to shake his head, Adelaide tried again. "Richard..."

She was struggling a lot though as she'd only really started recently with the whole feelings thing. She pondered about using the Mord'Sith approach and telling him to accept it and move on, but even she knew life wasn't that simple anymore.

"Richard when you met me, when you saw I had something resembling a heart, you told me that what you'd done was wrong, that you wanted to take it all back, and that's exactly what I did, I took it all back." Noticing Richard about to protest, Adelaide played her final card "Richard listen to me, you told me that the only person that you loved, and would ever love was your confessor and that is still true to this day. Even though you did it, it meant nothing to you Richard, nothing, and it never will..."

Adelaide continued to calm him until the darkness faded from his eyes. "I'm guessing this is what you meant when you said that it was between you and I?"

"What else would it be? Now let's go find this buck; I'm hunger"

Nodding in response, they began to follow the trail again. As they walked in comfortable silence, Adelaide began humming to herself, letting the familiar tune calm her, she began to see the good side of the seeker.

"So when you say it is only between you and I. Does that mean I can't tell Kahlan because I'm awful at keeping thing from her?" Adelaide's hum turned into a laugh.

"Richard, you can tell anyone you want now, I just thought you might prefer it if I told you in private, rather than just shouting it out in the middle of the camp."

Richard grimaced, he'd never thought of that, "You know I always liked you Adelaide."

"Did not"

"Did too"

"Richard, I'm a confessor you cannot lie to me" They continued their playful banter until they heard the buck's movements in the distance.

Crouching behind a bush Richard muttered "Right you wait here and I'll... what?" He broke off, watching Adelaide raise her eyebrows even higher than before.

"I'm guessing you and Cara didn't get to finish your little gossiping match. You really don't know me at all Richard. This is how it's going to work, you wait here, I kill the buck and then you help me take it back to camp, understood."

"I suppose so, but..." Richard watched Adelaide slither further and further away. He noticed that she seemed to be a cross of Kahlan and Cara, she had the heart of a confessor, but a mind of a Mord'Sith and an attitude that was totally her own. He found it amazing how someone could go through all she had been through and still have an attitude that was not to be mixed with.

A triumphant yell bought him back to the present day. Adelaide was astride the buck, pulling her dagger from deep within its heart. Richard laughed at her glowing face. "Nice one, but maybe next time you should try not squishing it."

The child in her shinned through her as she climbed off the buck and slapped Richards shoulder, smearing buck blood into his shirt. "The buck is fine, but I can't say the same for your shirt. You're going to have to wash that now."

Playfully, Richard pushed her. Letting gravity claim her, Adelaide fell to the ground, already planning her next move. When he held out a hand to help her get up, she grabbed it and pulled him down with her. Soon they were pushing and shoving each other, laughing like father and daughter.

Back at camp, Cara paced, "uh, where are they?"

Kahlan stood from her crouched precision by Renn and stood in the path of Cara's pacing, "Cara I'm sure they'll be fine, maybe they're just bonding"

Renn laughed, "I'm not so sure about that Kahlan, it took a month for Adelaide to trust me, let alone like me"

Kahlan's reply was sharp and soon Cara joined in the debate.

Breathless laughter bought their bickering to a stop. Entering the clearing, they froze; everyone was staring at them.

Breaking the silence, Kahlan let out the breath she didn't even realise she was holding "Well I guess I was right then, and Richard how on earth did you manage to get so muddy? I cleaned that just yesterday, go wash of now!" Her teacher like tone made Richard, a little nervous. It felt like he was a child again.

Leaning down, he whispered to Adelaide, "She's not being serious is she?"

"No, but I have a feeling your on washing duty for the next month."

"Hey, not fair. You're going to help me"

"Am not"

"Am too, you slapped me first"

"You said that I was fat"

"I never"

"Well you implied it then" Adelaide won the argument with a confident flick of her head. "I'm going to go clean off" With that she turned and left the camp, leaving Richard with four very confused people.

"You made a new friend there Richard?" Zedd had already started eyeing up the buck in Richard's arms, glad that he had managed to trust Adelaide so quickly.

"She's actually quite funny when you get to know her. She acts like a child a lot." He smiled to himself, as he remembered quite how funny she really was.

"That's weird; she never used to do that." Cara was interested to see the changes in Adelaide, although she was the same witty girl who she had grown up with, there was something different about her.

They sat around the roasting buck, discussing the newest member of their group.

Just as Cara was about to tell them about Adelaide's tendency to take charge, Zedd spoke "You know this reminds me of the time when Richard was little and he decided he would..."

"Alright Zedd, I think that's enough story telling for one day, how long does it take that girl to bathe?" Standing up, he turned in the general direction of the lake and yelled "Adelaide, hurry up, or I will personally come and drain the lake."

"Alright, no need to get stress, you were saying Zedd?"Adelaide sauntered into the group, her clothes now crisp and perfect.

"How long have you been there?" Kahlan asked, startled that no one had noticed her.

"A while, just enough time to catch up on the latest gossip about me. Now I'm intrigued, tell us this story of yours wizard." Richard shuffled over for her and she grinned. Fake sniffing her shoulder she complained "ah Richard you smell, listen to the Mother confessor and go wash" Before turning back to Zedd her eyes expectant.

"Right that's it" Richard grabbed Adelaide and held her above the fire "Now what do you say?" Although Adelaide was suspended inches above the flames, his tone told her he was joking.

Putting on the same sarcastic voice, she replied "I'm very, very sorry. I won't call you smelly again."

Watching the two of them, Kahlan realised just how much they looked like father and daughter. Well, she thought, Adelaide was supposedly her daughter anyway.

Richard was wary as he left the camp, he was sure as soon as he was gone that Zedd would start telling the others about when he went on a hunt for the first time, tried to be like the other, and ended up with a black eye from walking into a tree.

As soon as Richard was out of earshot, Adelaide turned to Zedd, "You were saying."


	8. Chapter 8

_Authors note: So I found this story buried in a mass of unfinished work, and as it was one of my favourites I decided I am going to try and complete it, along with my other multi-chapter fan-fic Warrior. So I hope you enjoy, and I will now work on finishing it._

Sweat ran down Adelaide's face, stinging her eyes and making her gasp. She could not remember the last time she had felt so hot, then again, she couldn't remember the last time she had to walk across country in the middle of summer in her training gear.

She smirked to herself. Although it was called training gear, she had never actually been trained in it. Her black Mord'Sith style leather showed power beyond imagining, even Cara would bow down to her in this outfit.

Despite this Adelaide really wanted her travailing clothes back. "Are you ok there Adelaide? You seem rather warm" Richard joked as he sauntered past to walk with Kahlan up ahead.

Adelaide growled, allowing little scenarios of Richard falling into a river to calm her. In fact, she could see a river just ahead.

Slowing down, she stepped into pace with Renn, telling him with a look what she wanted him to do. Laughing, Renn nodded and scampered forward to catch up with Richard.

"Hey Richard, can we stop for a bit, your legs are double the size of mine and I can't walk as fast as you." Renn completed his part of the dare with a grin.

Nodding, Richard went to go fill Kahlan's water skin up.

Seeing Richard standing precariously by the water's edge, Adelaide lunged. Catching him full in the chest she flew into the river with him, dunking them under the surface. Struggling to breathe, Richard tried prising the person's hand of him, but as they clung tighter, he realised who they belonged to, Adelaide! She was going to get it this time.

"Lord Rahl, Lord Rahl" Cara's worried voice broke through Adelaide's playfulness like a dagger through air. Letting Richard go, she pulled herself onto the bank and drew her weapons.

With Richard in tow, she approached the threat Cara had found. With her dripping hair and blood running down her face, she looked like a demon sent from the keeper himself. Peering over Cara's shoulder, she expected to find some bainling or D'Haran general. Instead, there was a scrawny man cowering under Cara's agiels.

"Alex?" she gasped. "Cara let go of him, he's harmless"

She smiled down at her old friend, glad to see that he was safe but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking over her shoulder with a look of pure terror in his eyes.

Clambering to his feet, he passed Cara and Adelaide. Ignoring Adelaide's huff, he knelt at Kahlan's feet and prayed "Mother Confessor in your light I grow, in your wisdom I believe. In your compassion I beg for your forgiveness for the pain I have caused you and the sacred people of The Midlands. And know that if you cannot grant my forgiveness then I will pass into the next world with the blame that I know I must carry."

Silence filled the clearing at his sullen words. The only noise was a soft cry from Adelaide. Kahlan stood stunned at Alex's pledge. He used to be of the same ranking as her, but now somehow, she seemed to of overtaken him. Trying to remember the correct protocol for the Mother Confessor, she whispered "Rise my child."

If she thought it was easier to have him looking in her eyes, she was wrong. She could see the determination deep in his steel grey eyes; she knew if she didn't forgive him, he would end his life. Although she hated him for leaving Aydindril and becoming Adelaide's pet, she now knew that he had no choice in the matter. She was almost glad that Adelaide had taken him; she didn't dare to think what Adelaide would have been like if she had not had Alex there to guide her.

"Alex, you have committed treason to the Midlands, as you the punishment for this is death", Alex flinched as he heard the last word, "but as Mother Confessor I overrule this judgement and declare you second wizard of Aydindril."

Adelaide felt the tension seep out of her as she watched Alex thanking Kahlan and introducing himself to Zedd. As if finally realising she was there, he turned and greeted her. "Hey Adelaide , we were expecting you in Aydindril weeks ago, Dennee really wants to see you again and she says she wants to get Renn out of the open, she says it's too dangerous for him. You know with the bainlings and everything, but you neglected to mention your new travelling companions."

"Well they weren't my travelling companions last time we spoke, and anyway why does Dennee need me in Aydindril, when I'm much more use in the open." Adelaide really didn't want to go back to the city life of diplomats and papers. She'd had to deal with it for years and now that she'd got a taste of the woods, she hated the thought of ever reading through a report again.

"That's not my decision to make; all I know that I must bring Renn back to Aydindril quickly. I'm on a deadline Adie, you can stay here or come with me, but you're going to have to choose quickly, I can't afford to be late." He hated using such a harsh tone with her, but sometimes it was the only way to get through.

Adelaide pondered for a moment, knowing she would be much more use fighting bainlings, but also wanting to see Denee again. Turning to Kahlan, she asked "Is it alright if I stay with you guys for now, I'm dreading the pile of paperwork that's awaiting me in Aydindril"

After receiving a quick nod from Kahlan, Alex pulled some clothes out of his pack. "Here Adie, I bought theses for you to change into, you can't really go running around the Midlands in that leather anymore."

Adelaide caught the dark green bundle, he threw at her and raised her eyebrow at him; he knew she only ever wore black. "It matches you eyes." He explained, with the typical blaze wizard response. "Anyway we better be on our way, I'll see you when you next come to Aydindril Adelaide."

Whilst everyone said quick goodbyes to Alex, Renn pulled her aside and whispered "remember our deal."

Adelaide just smiled as she hugged him goodbye. "Wouldn't miss it for the world my friend," she whispered as she propelled him to the waiting Alex.

As they watched the two walk off in the midmorning sun, Kahlan knew this was only the beginning of what was to be an interesting journey.


End file.
